Netherlands

Black Oak “Equinox”

Black Oak is the “super group” formed by The Black Atlantic’s Geert van der Velde and I Am Oak’s Thijs Kuijken. Plans for a collaborative release apparently existed for years, but this year their debut finally became reality.

Sofie Letitre “Take To Heels”

Originally born in Groningen, Sofie Letitre joined the creative community Knalland in Utrecht a couple of years ago which helped her broaden her music influences. Collecting a band around her, Sofie’s music became more and more infused with electronics.

This year saw the release of her impressive second EP “Take to Heels“, which she describes herself as “the optimistic twin sister” of debut EP “Uncanny Valley”.

Bombay “Show Your Teeth”

While hitting many end of year lists of Dutch tastemakers, the band Bombay (which had already a long history of changing band members and band names) unexpectedly announced a couple of weeks that after this year they will call it a day.

Luckily, they gave us the amazing record “Show Your Teeth” full of nifty lo-fi pop songs.

Amber Arcades “Fading Lines”

Apparently Annelotte “Amber Arcades” de Graaf had been saving money for quite some time without exactly knowing what for. A couple of years ago she decided she would spend the savings on making a record. Obviously, we could not have been more glad with her choice.

“Fading Lines” is a dazzling record full of clever indie pop tunes that keep on evolving the more you listen to it. With its catchy guitar lines, haunting melodies and bright production, this debut firmly puts Amber on the map.

Eefje De Visser “Nachtlicht”

Eefje De Visser reinvented herself on her magical third release “Nachtlicht” (meaning “Night Light”). For the first time she wrote the songs with her full band and to get out of her comfort zone she went to Barcelona to record the music.

The album is filled with beautiful melodies and shimmering electronics, but it is Eefje De Visser’s fragile voice and lyrics that truly steal the show.

And we were clearly not the only ones to fall in love with the album. Last year Eefje managed to sell out multiple venues in The Netherlands and Belgium including the legendary Amsterdam theatre Carré.